Oregon proposes expanding its cougar hunts

The OregonianThe state estimates there are about 6,000 cougars in Oregon.The state plans to expand a three-year old program to hunt and kill cougars in an effort to reduce conflicts with livestock, big game, people and pets.

Since 2006, the state has paid for hunting cougars in three areas around the state: near Heppner, Ontario and Medford. Overall, 101 cougars have been killed since then at a total cost of $310,501, a review of the program given to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission said.The Oregonianreported in May that the program was going forward even though cougar-related complaints have declined steadily since 1999, even as the number of big cats has increased.

Cougars, also called mountain lions, were nearly hunted to extinction in Oregon. But today the state estimates there are about 6,000 of the big cats here.

"The odds of a human being attacked or injured by a cougar are extremely low," the report cautions. "More people are injured or killed annually by rattlesnakes, bees, and dogs than by cougars."

The report presented today said the three-year old hunting program is working in some areas but not in others.

In eastern Oregon, near Ontario, the state says removing some cougars has led to a decline in conflicts with livestock. And near Heppner, state-sponsored killing of cougars is increasing the ratio of calves to cows among elk, the agency said.

But, "in Jackson County, non-hunting cougar mortality related to livestock and human safety/pet conflict did not decline as a result of administrative cougar removals," a staff report said.

Wildlife officials said development and the mix of public and private lands around Medford thwarted their ability to hunt cougars.

State wildlife officials are recommending designating four more areas where cougars will be hunted to aid elk and mule deer. The agency estimates it will kill a total of 90 cougars a year in these four new areas.